Meghan Markle on Motherhood, Media Scrutiny and Her Mental Health
On October 18, the British channel ITV released several clips to promote its latest documentary “Harry and Meghan: An African Journey,” which follows Prince Harry and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle as they tour the continent.
In one of the trailers, Markle opens up about the struggles of being a mother and a royal while facing scrutiny from the British media. Reporter Tom Bradby asked the duchess how she has been mentally in the midst of constantly being criticized by the press.
Here’s what she had to say:
Markle expressed how vulnerable mothers are during pregnancy, postpartum, and how it was even more difficult for her to go through that because she was constantly in the spotlight.
In the intimate clip, she seemed on the verge of tears but thanked the reporter for asking her how she was.
“Not many people have asked if I’m OK, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes,”
In the last year, the Duchess of Sussex has faced backlash from the British media for just about everything. From wearing Black nail polish, to eating avocado toast, wearing designer clothing and touching her own baby bump.
In response to the emotional interview, the hashtag #WeLoveYouMeghan began trending on Twtiter, as users, particularly Black women and other women of color expressed their gratitude for the Duchess and criticized the media for mistreating Markle.
These were a few notable responses:
Other users compared the British press’ mistreatment of Markle to the backlash Prince Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, faced in the 90s.
A few weeks ago, on October 4, Prince Harry denounced the British media and sued several UK tabloids for publishing false stories about his wife, disclosing personal information and even going as far as hacking his phone. This is not the first time Harry has stood up against the media. When the two were first linked together in 2016, Harry issued a rare warning to the press denouncing “the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.”
“I will always protect my family, and now I have a family to protect,” the Duke of Sussex said most recently. And we are certainly behind the two.
